User talk:JoePlay
Help request Hi JoePlay, Wow, your response was much faster than I expected! :D Here's what I had in mind: *Custom logo - Something based around the new logo which was used for the 2nd issue of the manga. This appears on the main page (I cropped this from volume 9) and it is the second one that you linked to. All the volumes for the first manga series use this logo. The previous version of it is just text, not as exciting, so no need to worry about that. The end product would incorporate the logo and the word "Wiki" in a similar font, if possible. This wiki logo could also be used on the main page as well. *Wiki BG - This may be more of a challenge, in particular because this manga was only adopted into a 2 episode OVA and there are not that many color images. I also want to use official images as the basis for all customized images. Here are some ideas: :*2003 Ultra Jump calendar - I tried this one out, but discarded it. Let me know what you think. :*Next Generator and The Cat's Skill - This could be a two parter - the first one on the left side and the second on the right, focusing on the title character and to show her appearances in the first and second manga. :*Another source for color images is the gallery on artist Yukito Kishiro's website (http://jajatom.moo.jp/album_e/gallery.cgi?mode=mini and http://jajatom.moo.jp/album/gallery.cgi, the Japanese version which has a few more images). He also has some wallpapers adapted from his artwork for download, but I'm not really a fan of these. Another possibility is the manga covers for the first series (http://www.viz.com/product?id=2071) and the second series, Last Order (http://www.viz.com/product?id=1288). *Layout - This is based on the previous header template at the Bleach Wiki. I tried the slider format but couldn't find 4 images that would work because they weren't large enough. The 8 topics that are linked to are not set in stone, but adequately cover the series. Two of the other manga series could be kept out if needed and the other topics adjusted. Please let me know if you have ideas to improve it. *Favicon - This could be a mini version of the title character's head (similar to the Bleach Wiki's favicon). A second idea is to use a color brain bio-chip similar to the ones here. For colors, it could be black or red with the initials "MIB" and the logo in white. My preference is for Alita's head if it can be done. *SEO - Not a main page idea per se, but do you have any ideas on how to improve it? The wiki is currently the last result on the first page of Google search results if "Battle Angel Alita" is used. If "Battle Angel" is used it is the 3rd result on the second page of results and for "Gunnm" (the Japanese title, which is also used internationally in several cases) one of the categories comes up at the bottom of the third page of results. Thanks for your time and help! Let me know if you have any questions or additional suggestions. [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 23:02, July 12, 2011 (UTC) Logo :Let's go with Logo2. I'm guessing that the little wings on the sides would mess up the logo if kept in? [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 19:04, July 14, 2011 (UTC) ::Logo3 works. Thanks! [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 19:33, July 14, 2011 (UTC) Background Looks good. TBH I wasn't sure how black backgrounds would work with the wiki since the content section is white, but it works with Pandora Hearts. To get some ideas from there, how would it look if Alita in both images is isolated with both backgrounds black and the images stay still while the rest of the page can scroll? Perhaps CS could be partially cut off while in NG she is centered. I do realize that in CS that her pose is different and wider because her left knee is extended. Perhaps something like what was done with Call of Duty in which the lower body of the figure on the left fades into the background could be done strategically so that the height of both images is the same. [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 02:25, July 15, 2011 (UTC) :Thanks for the revision. I didn't realize how wide Alita's coat is on the right image, but I think that can be worked with. Again going back to how the PH wiki's BG above is set up, the character on the right has his coat and chain going off screen, so I think that can be done here too, then you don't need to worry as much about where to crop and where to start fading into black. To compensate, the left image could be shifted over some more so that the left knee pad and maybe even the end of the blade's hilt are visible. Or maybe just the left knee pad so a part of this image is coming into the center screen. However I think that the reflection from the red lighting adds a nice touch. [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 01:19, July 16, 2011 (UTC) ::Cool. I've been trying to get an idea how the wiki will look once the BG is finished, although at my current resolution it looks like the BG would be cropped out anyway due to the text size I prefer to read at. I think it might be good to see what a final BG would look like in place before making further suggestions. [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 05:09, July 18, 2011 (UTC) :::Thanks for putting the BG up. I probably should have asked you this earlier - is there a "typical" or most common resolution that Wikia is optimized for? I currently use 1280 x 1024, which is big on my work monitor, but on my laptop screen it doesn't display the BGs, just the central content windows. XD This is why I said what I did above about current resolution, this was a laptop view. Cos now the left image is cut off and the right image looks fine. :P So now I feel silly - but just because what I'm seeing may not line up doesn't mean it doesn't for someone else - how does it appear to you? At the font size I'm reading (~12 point) the cutoff appears but if I decrease my view to say 10 point, it looks fine. Don't shift the left image back right to the right just yet, I'll see what it looks like when I get home. Sorry about that! :::In the meantime, if the background could be locked that would be great. [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 19:27, July 18, 2011 (UTC) ::::I'll go with the current BG as is, per what I said above, let's lock it in. [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 01:14, July 19, 2011 (UTC) :::::Both - let's go with this BG and lock the image's position so that it doesn't scroll. [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 16:30, July 19, 2011 (UTC) Favicon The image may be responsible for this, as it looks like there's a blue dot on her forehead for some reason. If you think there is a better image out there from the sources I gave you, feel free to use it if it looks better resized small. How would this look if the black border is decreased a little bit? [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 19:27, July 18, 2011 (UTC) :The favicon updated on the wiki and it looks good, maybe because it's compressed in the browser tab. It looked more stretched out previewing it in a window. Also the border looks fine. [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 20:55, July 18, 2011 (UTC) SEO It's funny that you suggested removing the animanga footer, as several of the wikis that are linked to on there, particularly the ones that are using a similar layout as this one and have a more "developed" look, do have it. So isn't it odd that something that is meant to be on your main page actually negatively impacts your SEO? O__o I tweaked the header links to put in full titles so that the words "Gunnm" and "Battle Angel" come up more. [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 17:12, July 19, 2011 (UTC) :Can't hurt to try then. The experiment starts today with the footer removed. [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 17:30, July 19, 2011 (UTC) Other suggestions This is a broad question, but do you have any further suggestions on how the wiki could be improved? [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 15:19, July 21, 2011 (UTC) :Yes - I wanted to have content in the drop down menus that actually existed, so that's why series-related content is a little sparse (although category links count, don't they?) I was also thinking of concentrating all policies/guidelines into a single User's Guide (sounds more user friendly) instead of listing them all out. Thanks for all the help! The wiki now is a totally different animal! [[User:BrokenSphere|'BrokenSphere']] (Talk) 18:47, July 21, 2011 (UTC)